Eat and Be Merry Crew

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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Eat and Be Merry teams up with Entertainment Book

This year, the Eat and Be Merry Crew is raising funds for FareShare (which is a Melbourne-based charity that rescues surplus, quality food from supermarkets, farmers and other businesses and transforms it into free nutritious meals for Victorian charities) by asking our dear readers to buy a copy of Entertainment Book 2016-17.

The Entertainment Book is a hefty tome that's full of dining offers – from high-end dining, cafes, pubs, bars and fast-food eateries, plus a whole heap of non-food offers, including lifestyle, entertainment, beauty and travel – which is published each year. I love flicking through the Entertainment Book to get ideas of where I could go for my next meal – especially for a fancy dining experience!

Most offers typically give you 25-30% off your total bill (some offers give up to 50% off) or a 2-for-1 deal. While that's pretty sweet, it gets sweeter as the book helps raise much-needed funds for charities and not-for-profit organisations. It's also a great way to try out new restaurants and making it easier on the hip pocket at the same time.

Photo credit: Entertainment Book

Depending on which region you live in, the book costs between $55-$70 (plus postage) and comes in a hard-copy or digital version (there are separate books for each state and territory). In my family, the savings we get from eating out at two fine-dining restaurants (i.e., the 'Gold Card' restaurants in the book) more than make up the cost of buying the book. Plus, if there's more than six of you, you can use up to three Gold Cards in one transaction – score!

Why FareShare?

We've picked FareShare because it's a cause that's close to our hearts and tummies.

Image credit: FareShare

FareShare's goal is to provide Victorian charities with as many meals as they need to help people who have fallen on hard times. With the help of 800 volunteers, FareShare cooks rescued food and turns it into 25,000 free nutritious meals a week for Victorian charities – such as soup vans, homeless shelters, food banks and school breakfast program. They include large groups like St Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army, the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and Anglicare, as well as small community food programs.

Source: FareShare YouTube channel

The meals go to children who miss breakfast and would otherwise not have lunch, and families who struggle to afford three meals a day. Meals also go to isolated elderly people, the homeless, asylum seekers and other vulnerable groups.

What FareShare cooks depend on what food is donated. Typically they make two type of meals, including hearty dishes (e.g., casseroles, pastas, curries and tagines) and savoury pastries (e.g., egg and bacon pies, quiches, and vegetable and meat sausage rolls). They make the meals as nutritious and tasty as possible.

Buy Entertainment Book 2016-17

Buy your copy of the Entertainment Book 2016-17 by clicking on the link below:

Disclaimer: FareShare will receive 20% profit margin from every book (hard copy or digital) sold. The Eat and Be Merry Crew has not and will not be receiving any payment for selling the book. The Crew has been given a complementary copy of Entertainment Book 2016-17. When the Crew dines at a restaurant using an offer from the Entertainment Book it will be disclosed in the relevant review.